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Philip Malbrough
Professor Philip Thaddeus Malbrough MP (born 18th April 1916) is a British Conservative politician who currently represents the constituency of Banbury, Oxfordshire, and has done so since the General Election of 1970. Entering Parliament for the first time at the relatively late age of 54. Early Life Philip T. Malbrough was born on 18th April 1916 to Reverend Luther Malbrough and Catherine Malbrough. Philip was raised in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. A bright student, Philip attended local public schools until his father, of decidedly lower-middle class backgrounds, decided young Philip would be best served in the local prestigious private academy of Abingdon School. Philip excelled in his studies, showing particular interest and talent for Music and History. Upon graduation, Philip considered following his father into the ministry before deciding to pursue a opportunity to attend university at Oxford at Exeter College. Graduating with honors in History in the weeks after Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, Philip used his connections at Oxford to secure a position in the War Admiralty, serving competently and eventually being promoted to the rank of major in 1944. In September of 1945 Philip was honorably discharged with the war over. Returning home, Philip married in 1946 and returned to university, receiving a PhD in History from Claire College, Cambridge in 1951 with a research specialty in Central European History. After two years of scholarly research, Philip joined Oriel College, Oxford as a Professor of History, specializing in Diplomatic history, and taught a particularly popular graduate course on the Paris Peace Conference of 1918. During his time he also wrote extensively, publishing 4 large research papers; The Rock; Gibraltar as a tool of Empire (1953) The Fourteen Points: A Scholarly Post-Mortem (1955), Czars, Magnates and Hussars; The Decline and Fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1958), A Man and a Revolution; Edmund Burke and the French Revolution (1961) Political Career Before his years at Oxford, Philip had been a relatively apolitical figure, focused more on his studies and duties than on politics. In the mid 1950's Malbrough began a long research study of Edmund Burke, which began to awake a interest in Politics. Malbrough has always credited Burke as one of the pillars of his political outlook. Beginning in the late 1950’s, he began to become very much politically inclined, for a time supporting the fledgeling Liberals. The reforms of the Liberals by Joeseph Grimond soured his feelings on the party and finally in 1959 Philip became a active member of the Conservative party when he joined the Oxford University Conservative Association. In 1964, the incumbent mayor of his hometown of Banbury retired, and he was asked to run for the position by the local party commission. Resigning from his position at Oxford, Philip won election, serving in his first elected office at the age of 48. After one relatively uneventful term of office, Philip attempted to secure party nomination for Parliament in 1966 but was passed over. In 1968 Philip decided not to seek reelection as Mayor, and in 1970 he was finally selected as the Conservative candidate for Parliament, easily winning his office. Philip proved to be a fast friend to Prime Minister Edward Heath, both gentlemen sharing a common bond of being middle class men who had risen through the ranks by merit. In 1971 Malbrough was seen by a press secretary outside of Conservative Party Headquarters directing a series of explicatives at fellow Tory Enoch Powell. While Powell was not popular within the party at this time, the gaffe cost him an opportunity at a position in Heaths government. During the Tory Leadership Contest of 1974, Malbrough openly supported Heath on the first and second ballots. After Heath dropped out of the race Malbrough openly endorsed Benjamin Walker, and managed to bring a handful of “Heathites” to Walkers camp. In the first Shadow Cabinet of Walkers leadership, Malbrough was appointed Minister of Education and Science, charged with defending selective education against reform by the Labour Government of Prime Minister Redmond. The Church Both Philips father and his eldest sons are/were members of the Ministry of the Methodist Church of the United Kingdom. His father serving for over 2 decades as a minister and later bishop in Abingdon and Greater Oxfordshire. His son was ordained in 1972 and leads a congregation in Belfast. Philip himself almost attended Seminary to join the ministry before opting to attend Oxford instead, and remains a active member and strong proponent of the Church. Philip is one of the few non-Anglican’s to have achieved positions of high rank in the Conservative Party.